Clamp.



F. W. WESTON.

CLAMP.

y APPLICATION FILED AUG. 27, 1908. 1,014,352. Patented Jan. 9, 1912.

UNirEn s'rATEs'PATENT Omron.

FOLKE WILLIAnwEs'rON, or NEW YORK, N.Y., AssIeNOR To r. wnsnL MANUFAC-TURING COMPANY, or BROOKLYN, New YORK, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

CLAMP.

Application filed. August 27, 1908.

Specication of Letters Patent.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FOLKE WILLIAMV VEs'roN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the city of NewYork, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Clamps, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates particularly to improvements in hooks, as theyare called in the printers art, which are employed for fasteningelectrotypes or other plates to printing blocks. As these hooks areconstructed at the present time, it is customary to make them intwo-parts, one part constituting the clamping head and being providedwith a longer or shorter lip according to the particular nature of thepartwhich it is to engage, and the other part, which is secured to thefirst part by a screw and is generally referred to as the nut,constituting a retaining piece forI securing the clamp in the block.This retaining piece or nut is generally fitted into an undercut groovein the printing block where it is slidable either forward or backward sothat it can be moved up to and back from the plate, and as its width isgreater than that of the groove at the 'surface of the block, it isretained in the groove and can only be extracted therefrom by being slidout of the end of the groove or by being tipped up on one edge. Such aform of hook is well known and largely used at the present time.

The present improvements consist in providing a mechanism for thepurpose of advancing or retracting this type of clamp or hook, that isone which is slidable back and forth in a groove, for the purpose ofconveniently effecting an accurate 'adj ustment of the plate which is tobe fastened to the block. Sometimes, as in multiple color and registerwork, these plates have to be very accurately positioned, a triflingdisplacement one way or the other being suflicient to spoil the effectof the printing. To make small adjustments in order to bring the platesinto correct position has not been an easy `matter and some such deviceas is provided by the presentimprovements has long been sought.

VIn accordance with the invention a tool is A provided which is adaptedto engage the block whereby it may serve as a lever with the particularpoint of engagement with the block as its fulcrum. By moving this leveragainst the clamp or hook, the latter may be slid together with theplate by a step by step movement, and an adjustment ever so slight maybe Obtained whereby the plate can be very accurately positioned withoutthe least difficulty.

The improvements and the method of practicing the invention will bedescribed in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich,

Figures l, 2 and 3 are plan views respectively of the improved clamp,the separate piece forming the clamping head thereof and the separatepiece forming the retaining member or nut. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 areelevations of the same respectively. Figs. 7,

8 and 9 are plan views of the same respectively, looking upon theundersides. Fig. 10 is a plan view of a plate secured to a printersblock or base by means of the improved clamps, and Fig. 11 is asectional view through one of the grooves in Fig. 10, showing the toolemployed to move the clamps and illustrating the manner of itsemployment. A

The printers block a which is employed to illustrate a base upon whichthe plate b is fastened by means of the improved clamps, is a commonform of printers block and is provided with a plurality of undercutgrooves c extending diagonally across the same. It will be understoodhowever` that various kinds of blocks or bases may be employed and thatthe present showing is intended to be conventional merely, as the inforthe purpose of causing the head d to maintain always the proper anglefor fastening the plate squarely upon the block. As will be seen fromthe drawings, this strip f is arranged substantially at an angle of 45with the head. Moreover, the forward edge g of the strip f projectsslightly so as to en-v gage underneath the plate b, the purpose of suchengagement being to prevent thehead from rising or twisting while it isbeing screwed down upon the plate through the medium of the screw Ztwhich fastens it to the retaining piece ory nut z'. The maximum width ofthe latter is greater than the Width of the grooves at the surface ofthe block and it is thus prevented from being pulled out of the grooves.It is preferably beveled at the upper edges of its sides, (Fig. 3) inorder that it may be tipped up and dropped in the groove or tipped upandV v recesses n-which are formed in the base as the preferable meansfor enabling the'latter to be engaged at different points by the tool.

n In the presentcase these recesses are shown as round. They are formedin the bottomof the grooves c, being alined along the center of thegrooves and extending from one end of the lgrooves to the other. Theyare arranged suliiciently near together so that the tool by engagingsuccessive recesses can advance the clamp in either direction along thegroove by a step by step movement.

l/Vhile the tool Z may be made to engage the ends of the clamps and thusadvance them against the plate Z), it is preferable to provide theclamps with a hole as 0 through which the end of the tool Z may beinserted, as illustrated in Fig. ll. This hole is preferably made in thenut portion of the clamp -and is larger' at the bottom than at the topin order to permit the necessary freedom of movement of the tool inadvancing or retracting the clamp. This hole is preferably tapered asshown.

In the practical use of the improvements for the purpose ofeffectingafine adjustment of the plate'upon the block, the clamps upontwo opposite sides of the plate are slightly loosened (that is the clampor clamps which hold the plate from moving in the direction in whichitis to be adjusted and the clamp Y or clamps upon the opposite side ofthe plate) and the reduced end of the tool Z is inserted through thehole o in one of the clamps upon said opposite side of the plate andmade to engage in a recess n at the bottom of the .groove in the block.Now by moving the upper end of the tool Z toward the plate,`the clampwill be moved together with the plate, the tool acting like a lever withits fulcrum in the recess which it engages in the base. .It will be seenthat -the movement of the clamp Will. be much thus moved back again, asin the first instance. It will thus be obvious that the adjustments canbe made with great ease and accuracy. Oftentimes of course the platewill have to be advanced a considerable distance in which case the toolZ is operated in the same way, being made to engage successive recessesin the base in order to eect a step by step adjustment of the plate therequired distance.

VVarious changes as will be obvious, may be made in the embodiment ofthe improvements without departing from the spirit of the invention. AndVwhere the improved clamp or hooks is used upon cylinder presses, thebase to which it is applied will have a cylindrical or curved surfaceinstead of a flat surface as shown in the accompanying drawings; and thegrooves and recesses in the bottoms thereof will, in such a case, beformed upon the surface of a cylinder and the same will of course bewithin the scope of the present invention.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of a clamp andabase,

2. The combination of a clamp and a base, Y

the basey having a succession of recesses so that it may be engaged atsuccessive points by a separable tool capable of acting as a leveragainst the clamp, whereby the latter -may be advanced and retracted.

3. The combination of a clamp and a base, the base having grooves forthe clamp and a succession of recesses in the bottom of the groove sothat the base may be en'- gaged at successive points by a separable toolcapable of acting as a lever against the clamp, whereby the latter maybe advanced and retracted.

4. The combination of a clamp and a base, the clamp being provided witha means to fasten it to the base having a hole therein and the basebeing formed so that it may be engagedby a tool capable ofacting as alever through the hole in the clamp, whereby the latter may be advancedand retracted. Y

5. The combination of a clamp and a base, the clamp having-a holetherein andthe base having a succession of recesses so that it may beengaged at successivey points by aY tool capable of acting as a leverthrough the hole inthe clamp, whereby the latter may be advanced andretracted.

6. The combination of aclamp and a base, the clamp having a hole thereinand the base having grooves for the clamp and a succession or' recessesin the bottom of the grooves so thatthe base may be engaged atsuccessive points by a tool capable of acting as a lever through thehole in the clamp, Whereby the latter' may be advanced and retracted.

7. rlhe combination of a two-part clamp, a base having grooves therein,and a plate, one part of the clamp being adapted to move in the groovesin the base and the other part of the clamp to fasten the plate upon thebase, and the base being formed so that it may be engaged in successivepositions by a separable tool capable of acting as a lever against theclamp to move the latter.

8. The combination of a base-block, and a two-part clamp, one part ofthe clamp being adapted to move in the base-block and having a holetherein and the other part being adapted to fasten a plate to thebaseblock, and the base-block being formed so that it may be engaged insuccessive positions by a separable tool capable of acting as a leverthrough the said hole to move the clamp.

9. The combination of a clamp having a clamping head and a nut, and abase having a groove in Which the nut is adapted to engage and recessesat the bottom of the groove, the nut having a hole therein through Whicha tool may be passed for engagement in any of the recesses inthe bottomof the groove, whereby the clamp may be advanced or retracted.

l0. The combination of. a clamp and a base, the clamp having a holetherein smaller at the top than at the bottom, and the base beingl:formed with a succession of cavities for the reception of the end of atool Which is adapted to be inserted through the hole in the clamp andmoved as a lever to advance and retract the clamp.

This specification signed and witnessed this th day of August, A. D.,1908.

FOLKE WILLIAM WESTON.

Signed in the presence of- C. H. MERRITT, LUoIUs E. VARNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of `Patents, Washington, D. C.

